


Chronicles of a Strange Life

by Zack_Price_LIS_writer665



Series: LIS x Xenoblade chronicles 2 [1]
Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game), Xenoblade Chronicles 2 (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-11
Updated: 2020-09-20
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:27:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25202431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zack_Price_LIS_writer665/pseuds/Zack_Price_LIS_writer665
Summary: This story is a crossover between the Life is Strange universe and the Xenoblade Chronicles 2 universe. This story is full of life is strange spoilers so if you haven't played the game then don't read this story. However, if you haven't played Xenoblade 2 yet then don't worry there aren't too many spoilers that will ruin your experience if you haven't played it.  So only people who haven't experienced LIS should be advised not to read this.
Relationships: Maxine "Max" Caulfield/Chloe Price
Series: LIS x Xenoblade chronicles 2 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1825759
Comments: 3
Kudos: 1





	1. The tragedy of 2 girls

Late afternoon sun glazed the town of Arcadia Bay. Bright colors of golden orange were on all the trees as the October autumn was settling in. Arcadia Bay was a small town in Oregon by the sea. People who lived in this town lived lives similar to any other person you might think of… well almost everyone. There was one individual whose life would soon become one, unlike any other person you could ever imagine. This particular individual of interest was walking towards her destination, the town’s high school, Blackwell Academy. This person’s name: Chloe Price. She could feel the leaves crunch on her boots as she sneaked towards the school carefully parked her truck out of sight of any unwanted bystanders. She wore pale blue jeans with some rips near the knees, and some patches on her right leg. She had some black and white bands on her right arm as well as a tattoo of the spiky vine with a rose and golden skull on it and wore a white t-shirt with a skull on it and under that, it had the words ‘misfit skull’. On top of that, she wore a black jacket with a necklace of 3 bullets. However, the most attention-grabbing feature of Chloe by far was her hair. Chloe’s hair was dyed a lovely shade of sapphire blue which reached up to her roots which were dyed violet, though the roots you couldn’t normally see as she wore a dark blue beanie. 

As Chloe made her way to the school making sure not to be seen she looked back on where this all began. Chloe’s life itself was not a pleasant beginning. Growing up she had a good childhood, she even had a friend, Maxine Caulfield; though she preferred to be called Max. Max and Chloe were the best of friends, they played video games together, cooked pancakes watched Blade Runner, pretended to be pirates, etc. They had so much fun together and they would have had a good life had it not been for that day. Chloe’s father William Price was quite possibly the best father you could ask for, kind, understanding, charismatic, and knew just what to do to make his daughter cheery. However, one day when Max and Chloe were at home William had gone to pick up his wife Joyce from collecting groceries but when he did a lorry rammed into his car, the impact from it killed him instantly. Everything changed after that. The shock from this incident still haunted Chloe to this day, it changed her, she harbored emotions of anger and sadness into her life. Her grades at school went down, she took up drugs, did petty crime and on top of it, all her mother Joyce fell in love with a new man David Madison. 

David Madison was a former marine and because of his training and the way he was taught he did not approve of any of the things Chloe did. Despite Chloe’s past, he was still a hard ass with her. Chloe felt like her life had become a living nightmare, but even in the darkest times, there were still glimmers of hope. That hope took the form of Chloe’s next friend Rachel Amber. Rachel Amber become Chloe’s friend when Chloe was suffering a lot. She and Chloe got into many shenanigans helped each other out when the other was in pain both emotionally and physically. Then more disaster stuck, mysteriously Rachel had gone missing 6 months ago no one knew where she went or why. Chloe put up missing posters and to tried to find her but to no avail, and now Chloe had business at Blackwell. One of the students at Blackwell and son of the richest man in Arcadia Bay Nathan Prescot owed Chloe money. One night when Chole was at a bar she ran into Nathen Prescot and in her drunken stupor thought she could have a good night with him. Even though she knew Nathan was a pompous rich kid who cared for nobody but himself she thought it would be an easy win to get money off of him because of how drunk he was. Looking back, she should have known better as that was when he had spiked her drink, and when she woke up, she was in Nathans dorm room. He had planned to take pictures of her on the floor helpless, however, Chloe had other plans. She escaped Nathen’s room unscathed but not without a hold on him. She threatened to blackmail Nathen about what happened if he didn’t pay up. After some heavy negotiations, Nathen finally agreed. Nathen told Chloe to meet him in the girl’s bathroom in Blackwell. Chloe was still baffled out of all the places they could have met that would be his destination of choice especially since if he were caught, he would be in trouble. But Chloe didn’t care all that much, she just wanted this over with. 

She stealthily blended in with the crowd. The class had just been dismissed so it was easy to blend in as Chloe looked like another student. She did have to be careful not to run into David or step-douche as she liked to call him because he was a security guard at Blackwell, and if he spotted Chloe here, she’d be in big trouble with him and her mom. Luckily, she didn’t see him, and she soon approached the girl’s bathroom and entered. Thereby one of the sinks she saw him, Nathen Prescot. Nathan wore expensive black jeans, along with a white button shirt underneath an orange jacket. His blonde hair combed to the side. His attire itself gave off an air of superiority, and yet as he stared at himself in the mirror there was a look of fear that Chloe saw. Then he saw her, and the look was gone.   
“So, what do you want?” he asked a look of anger already on his face.  
“I hope you check the perimeter as my step-ass would say,” Chloe said as she opened all the doors to see if anyone was in. She didn’t see anyone and assumed the coast was clear.   
“Now let’s talk bidness-” Chloe started to say but was cut short by Nathen  
“I got nothing for you”   
Chloe expected him to pull something like this, but he wasn’t getting away that easy.   
“Wrong. You got hella cash”   
“That’s my family, not me”  
Chloe knew Nathen would try and use any excuse to not give her money. So Chloe decided to resort to her blackmail tactics.  
“Oh boo hoo, poor little rich kid”  
“I know you been pumpin’ drugs n’ shit to kids around here. I bet your respectable family would help me out if I went to them.”  
She closed the gap between her and Nathen leaning on the side of the sick just as Nathen was leaning on the front of it still not looking at her.   
“Man I can see the headlines now-”   
But Nathen’s anger was slowly building up but now he was reaching his boiling point.   
“Leave them out of this, bitch!” he yelled as only now he started to look at her his eyes full of anger. Chloe was getting impatient and pushed Nathan as she said  
“I can tell everyone that Nathen Prescott is a punk ass who begs like a little girl and talks to himself-”   
But that was the final straw for Nathan as she pushed him away, he pulled out a concealed pistol.  
“You don’t know who the fuck I am or who you're messing around with!”  
Nathan's face was contorted in mad rage as his breaking point was being reached. Chloe had never seen that kind of look on anyone’s face, not even David’s when he had been at his worst. Now Chloe had felt something she hadn’t felt in a long time, fear. Her voice trembled as she said  
“Where’d you get that? What are you doing? Come on, put that thing down!”  
“Don’t EVER tell me what to do. I’m so SICK of people trying to control me!”  
It was too much for Nathen all those months of bottling up his emotions fear, sadness anger. He pinned Chloe against the wall as he screamed at her.  
“You are going to get into hella more trouble for this than drugs”  
Chloe’s voice shocked as she tried to think of what to do but couldn’t think of anything her mind as too full of fear to think.   
“Nobody would ever even miss your ‘punk-ass’ would they?”  
Nathan’s madness was taking over as his hold on her tightened.   
“Get that gun away from me psycho!”   
Chloe tried to push Nathen away from her but even as she did-  
BANG!   
It was too late he did it, Nathan had shot Chloe. As the bullet tore through her body, she felt herself fall in slow motion. The pain was too much all of her blood spilling out. But then it was as if her life was slipping away, her body collapsed on the floor thoughts kept rushing through her mind. Her memories with her friends, the regrets she had, and never making closure with her mother. She was losing herself, she thought she could hear a voice, but it was too distant. She began to lose feeling in her body, her consciousness disappearing, until all that remained was her cold corpse, Chloe Price was no more. 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Some feelings in the world sometimes can’t be put into words like the feeling of being put in a dream. Not questioning why you are in a place or why nothing makes sense, that was the feeling Chloe had at this moment but what moment was it she did not know. She couldn’t feel or think about anything she was just existing. For how long this was going on she did not know a few seconds? Hours? Weeks? Or maybe centuries? Time was impossible for her to track. Until at long last Chloe felt something her body wasn’t much of her body, but it was hers. Chloe could hardly remember anything; she knew her name but everything else was black. She was lying on something soft but not a bed, it felt more like soft earth she was lying on with blades of grass that were tickling her face. She could also hear a faint sound of church bells ringing somewhere in the distance. Chloe tried to open her eyes, it was harder than she remembered, her vision was hazy at first but as soon as it cleared, she could take a look at her surroundings. She appeared to be on the outskirts of a forest, behind her were many trees that made up said forest in front of her was a small hill with one single tree at the top the sound of the church bells seemed to be coming from that direction. Chloe took a look at herself; she was wearing black boots and gray jeans with some rips in the right knee, a white t-shirt with a raven in the middle of what looked like the sun, under this was a flannel shirt and on her head, Chloe could feel a beanie, and she could see a few strands of blue hair Chloe couldn’t remember how it looked like that though. 

As Chloe took her surroundings in more, she could see someone standing underneath the tree on the hill. Chloe was trying desperately to remember how she got here but it kept hurting her head. Chloe wasn’t sure if this person knew who she was, but she didn’t have a lot of options, so she started walking to her. She could still hear the sound of the church bells and as she walked, and before she knew it Chloe was 5 feet from the person under the tree. It was a girl she had her back-facing Chloe as she looked over the hill and she was wearing the strangest clothes Chloe had seen. Half of her back was bare the top of it along with her neck was covered by some sort of red armor, something was covering her front, but Chloe couldn’t see it. She had what looked like shorts although Chloe couldn’t tell what material it was made out of all she could see is that it was red. Most of what the girl was wearing was red, including stockings that reached her upper thighs but again with the shorts they weren’t made with the same material. Even her neck-length hair was red, not ginger red but crimson red as if she had dyed it that way, the way that Chloe must have had her hair dyed blue. She was wearing fingerless black skintight gloves with some kind of green gem on each writ, and the girl’s shoes also had these gems on them. However what stuck out most was the two wide ribbons that were protruding from the girl’s upper back, they seamed to keep staying aloft despite there being no wind. What was more was at the end of these ribbons was two lines crossing each other to form the letter X, and next to that was a cut in these ribbons that looked like the letter C. 

Chloe’s confusion of the whole situation was increasing still, she was struggling to speak as she said  
“H-hello?”   
The girl didn’t turn around she still kept staring over the edge of the cliff. There were a few more seconds of silence before the girl replied.  
“It's such a mournful sound…”   
The girl spoke with a kind and sweet voice, through Chloe could not see her face she did not feel threatened or in danger.   
“It hasn’t stopped. Not… not in all these years”  
“Hasn’t stopped?” Chloe asked   
“You mean that bell sound?” she said finally getting a grasp on the reality of this place and remembering what a bell was.  
“Is there a church somewhere nearby?” Chloe asked confused   
“Uh… where are we?”  
“This is… Elysium”   
Chloe stared at the girl confused, even more, this word didn’t mean anything to her.   
“The land where long-ago man lived in harmony with their creator, it’s where ‘we’ were born.”  
This answer still didn’t help Chloe understand what on earth was going on.   
“What are you talking about?” Chloe walked further to see what this girl was looking at. She saw a small town in the distance, a few small buildings, a lake, and what looked to be a church that must have been where the bell sound was coming from. Chloe then turned to take a look at the girl from the front. Chloe was quite surprised by what she saw; the girl was beautiful. Chloe could take a better look at the armor it covered her front while leaving her sides exposed and a hard time keeping her eyes off of the girl's bosom it was quite large. But as she was looking at it, she saw just between the girl’s bosom and her neck was another green gem in the shape of a rectangle with two trapezoid shapes on either side of the top of the gem. The girl had a warm and inviting smile with red eyes, but they didn’t look evil or sinister at all. It was more like a comforting cozy fire, and on the girl’s head was a sort of headband with another of the green gems on it. 

Chloe’s gaze was inadvertently brought back to the girl’s chest.  
“What is that green thing?” she asked pointing at the gem.  
The girl's smile was still on her face as she answered   
“This is my core crystal, my name is Pyra”  
Chloe was getting a bit embarrassed with how pretty the girl was as she looked away so as not to stare and said  
“Oh, right m-mine is…”  
But before Chloe could give it Pyra answered.   
“I know you your Chloe, right?”   
Whatever Chloe was expecting it certainly wasn’t this. Her eyes went wide as she asked nervously   
“How did you know my name?”   
“It hasn’t been easy you know, trying to bring you here I mean.”   
“You brought me here?”   
“Yes”   
“But how I mean… I don’t even know how I got here”   
Pyra’s smile wavered as she said a tone of somber.   
“you were… Killed. Shot by Nathen Prescott and you bled out”  
It was as if someone had flicked a switch in Chloe’s mind. Her memories all came flooding back. Her childhood, the loss of her father, her friendships with Max and Rachel, Rachel having her back, and the painful memory of Rachel going missing.  
“Shot” Chloe repeated   
“through the…” her hand touching the point where the bullet had passed. Then it hit her like she was reliving the pain of the bullet that killed her. The memory of Nathen killing her in that bathroom. She staggered back feeling sick from what she could remember.   
“Oh god,” She said her voice shaking the reality of the situation hitting her like a load of bricks.   
“I remember now that fucking bastard killed me!” she yelled panic in her voice now. She doubled back turning away to run back collapsed on her knees fear taking over, her eyes welling up with tears.   
“What the fuck am I gonna do? I’m dead? No, I don’t want it to end like this I never even found Rachel, all I did was yell at mom and didn’t even tell her I loved her and Max she doesn’t even know. Fuck, I was such an asshole!”   
Tears dripped down her faced to the soft earth as she sobbed. The regrets in her life all weighing down on her. Then footsteps approached Chloe, it was Pyra. Chloe looked up at her, Pyra’s face no longer had the smile on it but instead a look of deep sadness.  
She spoke with sorrow and almost something was holding her back from speaking  
“Chloe… I’m so sorry about this”   
Chloe looked up at Pyra confused by what she said.   
“What?” she asked still crying  
“You still don’t know everything”  
Chloe letting her emotions go out of control now began to lose it.  
“What the fuck are you talking about, I’m dead what more is there to know?!” she yelled not holding back her emotions anymore.  
Pyra signed her somber expression gave off a feeling of grief throughout her whole life.   
“This is going to hurt me just as much as it will you” and before Chloe could say anything else Pyra place her finger on Chloe’s forehead, and it happened again.   
All of these memories that Chloe didn’t even remember were flashing before her. Until suddenly it all came back to her, Max had saved her in that bathroom, she had gained the ability to rewind time to change the outcome of the future, she and Chloe went on an unforgettable adventure together, their mission to find Rachel Amber, the number of times Max had saved Chloe, the pain that each of them went through, and in the end Chloe told Max she loved her right before she gave Max her blessing to sacrifice her to save Arcadia Bay from the tornado that would have destroyed the town.   
Chloe was back on the hill with Pyra. Her whole body shaking as she said   
“I remember now, all of it”   
This revelation was too much for her, Chloe could feel her knees buckle as she collapsed on the soft earth. Pyra sat down next to her waiting patiently for when she would awaken.


	2. The calm after the storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It has been a year since the death of Chloe Price. Max, as well as her friends, have been affected by this but this calm atmosphere will soon change to something no one could have expected.

"Max, you done yet?”  
“Yeah I think that’s everything Warren, let me just pack up”  
The afternoon sun was bathing the lighthouse on the cliff where Maxine Caufield and Warren Graham were standing. Max had just finished taking shots of Arcadia Bay, the lighthouse, and a bunch of different scenic views.  
“Got some good ones today this will look great”  
Max had taken most of the shots on her Nikon D100 but the best ones she had saved for her polaroid camera to have this picture right away.  
“It sure is a beautiful day out here, you still game for coming to the dinner with the others we’re gonna toast to your grades?”  
Max smiled finally glad about something that wasn’t her schoolwork  
“Yeah I’ll be there but I’m gonna go say hi to… her first”  
Warren didn’t need to ask twice to know what Max was talking about.  
“Oh right, yeah sure take all the time you need with her we won’t’ mind if your late”  
“Thanks, buddy,” Max said as she gave Warren a hug  
“Don’t mention it Max I know how hard this month is for you just go, see you at the Diner”  
Max began to walk down from the Lighthouse cliff. She was wearing black punk rock sneakers along with some ripped black jeans the style of a rebel. Along with this, she wore a white shirt with 3 people on it though it was quite hard to make out who they were or what they looked like, and on the shirt, she wore a flannel jacket. This style of punk clothing was favored her late friend Chloe Price, and as she walked Max reminisced on the old days. 

It had been a whole year since that tragic day on this very day October 7th was the day that it happened, the day that Chloe died. It didn’t start like that; however, on that day when Chloe died, Max had discovered she had powers, the power to turn back time to change the future. She used that power to save Chloe from getting shot by a deranged lunatic who happened to be a student at the school Nathen Prescott. It didn’t stop there though Max had then received an ominous vision about a tornado that would destroy the town in five days. When Max confronted Chloe about this, she didn’t understand at first but when Max proved her powers to her, she was overjoyed. So glad not only to have her old friend back but now that she had powers, they had fun with them for a while until they realized that they had bigger fish to fry. Rachel Chloe’s new friend while Max had gone away to Seattle had mysteriously gone missing 6 months ago and it was looking like she hadn’t run away but was kidnapped. Max had then later found out that he was more advanced than she thought. If she focused on a photograph she could hope back to when the photograph was taken and stay in it for a while and make changes that would change the future far more drastically than normal. She tried to stop Chloe’s father William Price from dying in his accident, and while her actions were well-intended it only made things worse. It resulted in Chloe being involved in a car accident that paralyzed her leaving her in tremendous pain. So with a heavy heart, Max used her photo hop power to put things back and continue their search for Rachel. 

Then with further investigation from the two ladies they had found out the terrible truth. As much as neither of them wanted to believe it, Rachel Amber was killed. Dead and buried. In a blind rage Chloe sought to go after who she thought was the culprit Nathen Prescott, but both the girls had instead fallen into the trap of the real mastermind Mark Jefferson, Max’s art teacher. He assassinated Chloe and kidnapped Max and brought her back to his darkroom where he tied her up and took pictures of her. After much pain, Max had no choice but to use her photo hop power to stop Jefferson and bring him to justice. Even after that, however, the vision of the tornado was true and soon it fell upon the town. Max and Chloe fled to the high ground on top of the lighthouse (the same lighthouse that Max was walking from). It was then in that moment that Max realized something; she still had the photo she took of a butterfly just before Chloe died. So she had to make a choice: sacrifice Arcadia Bay to save the one she loved or sacrifice the one she loved to save the town. It was hard to describe the sorrow that Max felt for the choice she made. She loved Chloe and she knew that Chloe couldn’t live knowing that Max had let Arcadia Bay die for her. So she used the time hop power, and the town was saved but at a terrible price, Chloe’s life. 

Max had finished her walk to the cemetery she wanted to give Chloe a gift on this day, she didn’t want to feel like she was gone. Max liked to believe that in some other timeline she and Chloe lived together happily. After all Chloe herself said just before Max left was ‘No matter what reality I end up in, all those experiences will still be real’ Remembering what Chloe had said was the only thing that kept Max sane after all these months. Max also wasn’t the only person that had gone through changes, everyone had. After Chloe’s death, Nathen was arrested and sentenced for 2nd-degree murder for 15 years, and eventually thanks to Max, Jefferson was next with several charges of 1st-degree murder and sentenced for life with all the blood on his hands his sentence was much harsher. Victoria Chase who was another student at Blackwell that happened to be dating Nathen was heartbroken to learn of his crimes. Victoria herself didn’t seem like a particularly nice girl on the first inspection, she chastised others for not knowing as much as she did, often flaunted her wealth whenever she had the chance, and she filmed another student Kate Marsh at the vortex club (a party funded by Blackwell Academy) while she was drunk and had kissed someone. However, after the incident she changed, she grew depressed and the only company she had were her two friends Tayler and Courtney but after a while, they didn’t give her the words of comfort she was looking for. Max wanted to give Victoria some console but someone else beat her to it, Kate Marsh. Max’s friend and the very girl that Victoria had bullied at the vortex club. Victoria was shocked at this, someone comforting her when she had bullied them. Kate was very religious though, so forgiveness was something Max knew Kate would be brought up to believe in. It was this very act of kindness that help Victoria though her depression of losing Nathen to his crimes. It also was what made Kate, Victoria’s friend, and eventually Max’s friend. All three of them helped each other out with their worries and troubles along with Victoria’s friends Taylor and Courtney and Max’s friend Warren together they all became friends and all of them became stronger.

David Madison was a different tale, however. He was Chloe’s stepfather the loss of Chloe affected him more differently than Max. Back when Chloe was alive, she and David did not get along at all, they fought over almost everything. Chloe’s weed addiction, Chloe’s attitude, and the antics she got up to with Rachel. David was an asshole when he treated Chloe, but despite all this, he did care about her. He just worked too hard in the wrong places, with him spending most of his life in the marines he dealt with problems more aggressively than he should have done. Joyce (Chloe’s mother) had married him for a reason, she could see past his aggressive nature and know what kind of man David really was. So when Chloe died David had the most regret out of anyone, Chloe never knew how much David did care for her. After the funeral, he still worked his job as a security guard at Blackwell, but he learned something. Something that he should have learned a long time ago a discipline he never exercised in the marines, patience. His lack of patience was what had caused him to not get along with Chloe and what he believed to be the cause of her death. He had not forgiven himself for it and had vowed to make a change. 

Max, Warren, Kate, and Victoria were going to have dinner at the Two Whales diner where Joyce worked at and was going to toast Chloe’s memory. It was Max’s last promise to Chloe, that she would never forget her. Joyce said that David might come round if he had time as well. Max hoped he would, it had been a while since they spoke, and she could do with a chat with him. After much walking, Max had made it to the Arcadia Bay cemetery where Chloe was. She had gone there enough times to know where Chloe’s tombstone was, she found it and began rummaging in her bag. Max pulled out a single Iris flower from her pocket and the picture of Arcadia Bay she took from the lighthouse cliff. Max had grown the Iris flower herself in her dorm room caring for it ready to place it on Chloe’s grave.  
“Hey Chloe,” Max said to the tombstone, she sat down next to it and placed the flower and photo on it.  
“It’s been a while; I hope you like the flower I grew it all by myself I just know you’d love it. My photography is still on point I’m taking pictures every day; this one was when we were on that lighthouse that was a good talk we had. It still feels like a different lifetime ago we had that talk”  
Max nudged herself closer to Chloe’s grave, her head resting on her hand.  
“I wish I knew how you were doing but I guess that’s not really possible I’m doing great I got full marks in my photography exam my new teacher says with the right contacts I could start at an agency easily. I know I say this every time, but I wish you were still here to see this. You never got to see how much David loved you, and Victoria I’m so proud of what she’s been able to accomplish. She used to be such a bitch to everyone now she and Kate are best buddies, and Warren I don’t know what I’d do without him.”  
Max paused waiting a moment to speak. She reached out to touch the grave her hands shaking but she placed her hand on it and said  
“I promised I’d never forget you Chloe, and that hasn’t changed. You showed me so much of what I’ve been missing in my life. I’m going to be living the best life that I can, I just wish you were here to see it.”  
A tear trickled down Max’s face and splashed onto the Iris flower.  
“I love you Chloe” she whispered as she kissed the grave.  
Max got up and walked away from the cemetery and began making her way to the Two whales. The more Max walked she cleared her head and composed herself, she didn’t want to walk into the Two Whales all doom and gloom. About 20 minutes later she arrived at the Diner. She could already see the others at a booth as she walked in, and just as she walked in, she heard the unmistakable voice of the one and only Joyce Price and couldn’t help but smile at hearing it again.  
“Max! It’s good to see you, dear, how are you?”  
Max had always admired Joyce with her motherly embrace as she hugged Max. She wore a white apron over her skirt that had many stains from the busy flow of food to and from the kitchen. She wore a dark ocean blue 3 button collar shirt with the Two Whale’s logo sewn on it. That kind of inviting smile she always had completed the waitress look.  
When Max had finished her hug with Joyce, she answered  
“Thanks, Joyce I’m fine I just came back from the cemetery to you know…”  
“Yeah I know” Joyce was quite a sharp woman. She could catch on to certain things quickly. Then again if you had a child, like Chloe an instinct like this would come naturally.  
“David’s knows what day it is too; he’s been pretty down all day”  
Max’s smile faded a little  
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that Joyce, he hasn’t been angry, or anything has he?” Max remembered what David used to be like he had quite the temper back in the day, usually when he believed there to be crime afoot or when he believed Chloe had crossed a line. But Joyce chucked at Max’s question  
“no, no nothing like that Max, he’s taken the day off today he’s just been feeling down”  
Joyce could see what Max was thinking and said  
“Don’t worry too much about David, Max he’s changed so much since last year. I’m so proud of him, he ain’t perfect though, he still gets angry at himself. He keeps blaming himself for losing Chloe, he’s a big softie when we’re alone together but he hates anyone else seeing it, we should probably keep that one to ourselves Max Okay?”  
Max nodded. She glanced over at the rest of the gang who were eagerly waiting for her.  
“I should probably get over to the others, I think they’ve been waiting for me long enough”  
“Sure thing Max you go right on ahead I’ll be over with your order soon”  
Max smiled and went over to the gang who all were happy to see her. Neither of her friends had changed too much. The gang was all dressed rather formally aside for Warren. Warren was dressed in his usual attire which consisted of regular jeans and some kind of zany shirt. Today it was a bright red one that had the quote ‘stop expecting normal out of me, we all know it’s not going to happen’ His brown hair wasn’t maintained the best, it was clean but he didn’t bother to style it in any way like Victoria did. It almost got his eyes a few times, but it never bothered him. Kate, on the other hand, was dressed in the clothes she normally likes to wear, a white-collar shirt with a black skirt and a black jacket. Her faith in her religion still glowed brightly with a cross on her necklace. Her blond hair used to be styled into a large bun, but now she let it hang down to her shoulders which she often tied in a ponytail or sometimes in a braid but today it was just down to her shoulders. Victoria was dressed the smartest out of everyone. If there was one thing, she still had pride in it was her fashion. She wore a grey button upskirt with black stockings along with one of the many pieces of cashmere that she owned this one red with white shiny beads around her neck. Her hair was blond like Kate’s and was taken care of the most out of everyone it was kept short and was combed to the side.  
Kate got up and hugged Max.  
“Congratulations Max, I’m so proud of you for this”  
“Thanks, Kate, it’s been pretty rough, but I made it”  
“I should think so girl, you got better grades than me,” said Victoria  
“Hey, you still did good to Vic,” said Kate  
That much was true, Victoria taking mostly the same as Max had passed as well but not with the flying colors Max had. That was once again one of the many things Victoria had learned in the past year, humility. She used to be so obsessed with achieving greatness it clouded what was really important.  
“Thanks, Kate” Victoria smiled, glad that she could still be friends with her after everything that had happened between them.  
“Why don’t we all sit down and talk about it some more,” said Kate.  
Max agreed, and when their food arrived, they started talking about the future. They mostly talked about how well their grades were, Warren had got decent grades in science and mathematics, and while they weren’t’ the best they possibly could be he was still satisfied he could get into college with them. Victoria and Kate both had plans of what they wished to do with their grades for both of their futures. They also had plans to go take a vacation around Portland on a road trip.  
“and we’re gonna go and find every tea shop we can find while we’re there,” said Kate as she was telling everyone about the vacation.  
“Sounds pretty fun,” said Max  
“What about you Max?” asked Warren  
“What are you gonna do for your vacation?”  
Max took a sip of her tea and thought before answering her face slightly crestfallen.  
“Truth be told… I’m not sure. I’m not even sure what I’m gonna do after my vacation. This whole growing up thing is harder than I thought, it feels really scary”  
“Girl what are you talking about? You’re super Max” Kate said trying to bring Max’s confidence back up.  
“Your shots are the best, you aced your grades, and you’ve stayed strong throughout all of it… even after-”  
Kate stopped herself, she almost brought up an uncomfortable topic. But Max looked at Kate and finished her sentence  
“Chloe. That’s what you were gonna say right?”  
An awkward silence elapsed for a few seconds before Max said  
“It’s okay, I just came back from talking to her”  
“Oh right… uh, how was it if you don’t mind me asking?”  
Max took a sip of her tea before answering.  
“It’s kinda hard to describe. Every time I talk to her it’s like she knows what I’m saying even though I know she can’t. Is that weird?”  
“I mean maybe a little”  
Victoria said she had a pondering look on her face. Max was right, she was finding it difficult to understand what she was talking about.  
“Vic!” said Kate in a scolding tone  
“It isn’t weird Max nothing about coping is weird. Everyone copes with loss differently. I think it’s really sweet how you’re coping Max and besides, you should understand what loss is like too Vic”  
“Yeah, I know. I’m sorry I didn’t mean it in a bad way it’s just a little hard for me to know what you’re feeling Max. I’ve never lost anyone before… well at least not like that anyway”  
Victoria was of course talking about Nathen who was still incarcerated.  
Max waved off Victoria’s statement, however.  
“It’s okay Vic I know this kind of thing is different for everyone. I don’t expect anyone to understand, I don’t mean that in a bad way but, Chloe once told me when we were kids that no matter where she would end up everything that we did was real. Reminding myself about what she said is the only thing that’s kept me sane all these months”  
Max was technically stretching the truth here as that wasn’t exactly what Chloe said, but the original quote wouldn’t have made sense in this context.  
Then Warren who was usually the one to lighten the mood in any situation raised his glass of soda and said  
“Well I think we should toast this moment to be remembered forever, that’s what Chloe would have wanted right?”  
Max nodded and she and the others raised their glasses as Warren made the toast.  
“To Mad-Max’s epic grades and Chloe Price to never be forgotten”  
“To Chloe!” the gang all said in unison as the glasses clanged together and everyone took a drink.  
Max smiled grateful for her friends to be with her  
“Thanks, guys, you really are the best friends anyone could ask for”  
“It was all thanks to you, Max,” Victoria said  
“I don’t think any of this would be possible without you”  
“You said it, Vic,” said Warren  
“You know I always-” but before Warren could finish his sentence the sound of a car screeching into the Two Whales car park. The gang was rather surprised to see David not only parking recklessly but also sprinting out of a car that Max didn’t recognize into the Diner. He burst in just as Joyce was finishing an order, she turned to see him come in.  
“David I wasn’t expecting to see you here what’s-”  
“Joyce, we have to get everyone out of here!” David spoked in a panic.  
The gang got out of the booth to see what was going on.  
“Get out? David, what do you mean? what’s wrong?”  
It wasn’t until Max got a closer look at David’s face did the situation become serious. David was one of the toughest people Max knew, with his time on the battlefield he was hardly scared of anything. Yet here David was with a look of terror on his face. What could possibly send David into this state of panic?  
Max’s face turned to a look of concern as David started talking loudly and quickly.  
“I don’t know what they are but they look like robots and their dangerous and their attacking everyone at Blackwell and their heading for the rest of Arcadia Bay!”  
“Robots? David, what the hells going on?” Joyce was starting to look worried now. Not only that but it seemed David was causing quite the scene as other patrons were staring at him with confusion and some even gave a few chuckles thinking David must be seeing things as one customer, an elderly trucker called out  
“What’s the matter with you Madison? This one of them crazy soldier hallucinations or something?”  
David turned to the man and yelled  
“I’m telling you it’s these golden flying robots their attacking everyone at Blackwell and their heading for the rest of us!”  
But the trucker still sat there chuckling to himself not believing what David was saying.  
“Ha! Golden robots huh. They also have a bunch of goblin buddies as well?”  
David was about to shout back at him again but before he could there was a loud sound that came from outside.  
“Take a look outside their all coming for us” David ordered. He took Joyce’s hand and dragged her outside and the gang scared about what was to come next joined David as well as the rest of the Diner. They didn’t have to look far to see what David was talking about. It was hard to believe but it was happening. Right in the distance of Blackwell was a giant pillar of yellow light that was shooting into the sky and from that pillar were hundreds of flying golden figures that were impossible to make out. However one thing was for sure, these golden figures were shooting what appeared to laser beams all across the land destroying anything that came in its path. Not only that but David was right whatever these things were weather they were robots or not… they were all getting closer to the Two Whales and if they didn’t do something soon Max and the others would be next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone. So yeah this has probably been the longest I've spent from my writing before. It's been real busy work and stuff. But I'm finally back and I'm so happy to realize this next chapter. As you might guess the first couple of chapters are going to be from Chloe's and Max's perspective swapping when necessary. I may have put a bit too much exposition than I may have wanted but I'm pretty confident about the next couple of Chapters I plan on writing. I'm hoping you guys like my interpretation of how Pyra and Chloe interact as well as the other Xenoblade characters. So yeah that's all for now hope you like this chapter and are interested to see what happens next? See ya

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for taking the time to read this. This is a story I'm very excited to publish and I would really appreciate it if you would tell me what you think of this story and for people who have played Xenoblade 2 will know where the concept for this story will be going so any feedback would be very appreciated. I've got big plans for this story and the character interactions I plan to have here will be quite interesting. Hope you enjoyed this chapter see you later.


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